Donna Yates
'''Donna Yates immediately rubs the Bridge Street traders up the wrong way and declares war on her stall rivals Kat and Bianca! Storylines Following the decision to merge Spring Lane market with Bridge Street market, Donna arrives to assess the competition. Kat Moon assumes she is from the council and questions her. When she discovers she is a stallholder, she is furious to discover that the Spring Lane stallholders already know about the decision to merge. Later, Donna is hostile towards Kat and Bianca Butcher as she also sells clothes. When the Spring Lane traders arrive, Alfie Moon asks Donna to wear a black armband as a mark of respect for Lucy Beale, who has recently been killed. However, Donna refuses as she does not want to put buyers off. It later becomes clear that Donna fancies Terry Spraggan, and takes a disliking to Terry's ex-wife, Nikki. Donna is later rude about Patrick Trueman's stroke, and clashes with Fatboy, a fellow stall holder. Pam Coker befriends Donna and helps her see the positive sides of life, including helping her make friends with Kat and getting her a date for Valentine's Day. While planning a party for Donna's thirtieth birthday, she has Fatboy make amends with her by apologising to her and helping her with receipts. Later, Donna lies about a salon appointment to go to the hospital but when she cannot find a taxi, Fatboy drives her. She confesses to Fatboy privately that she goes to the hospital regularly for blood tests and painkiller injections in hopes of prolonging the energy she has before undergoing joint replacement, and that she didn't want Pam to worry about her. At Donna's party in The Vic, Fatboy gives Donna a present, even though she wasn't bothered. Martin Fowler pretends to flirt with her, and laughs about Donna with his mates. Fatboy then attacks Martin, as he has feelings for Donna, leaving Donna furious and hurt. Donna leaves The Vic, and Pam follows her, and she surprises Donna when her mum, Claudette Hubbard, shows up at her house, which Pam had planned secretly all along. It is then apparent that Pam, who was then a social worker, put Donna into Claudette's foster care when she was eight years old. Fatboy later apologizes and gives her the present that she had previously turned back. Donna tells him to leave, but she opens the present when everyone has left. She doesn't really like the present but smiles to herself about his effort, which hints at a romance in the air. Casting and introduction Digital Spy told us: the 31-year-old Lisa Hammond will play tough market trader Donna Yates on Bridge Street, who declares war on stall rivals Kat and Bianca. Despite the character not originally intended to be in a wheelchair, Hammond succeeded in her audition for the role among able-bodied actors. Hammond has a restricted growth condition and is the second regular disabled character to appear on Albert Square, after Adam Best (David Proud) from 2009 to 2010. Hammond told Spy: "I'm really excited to join the cast of EastEnders, the actress said. "It's a great opportunity to be a part of such a big and popular show. Donna is a bit of a handful but they're always the most fun characters to play! It feels good to be bad!" Dominic Treadwell-Collins described his character to Spy as "flinty, aggressive and difficult". "Donna's not an easy character to like at first," he admitted. "As we get to know her better however, we will discover a funny, loyal but also fragile woman underneath. Lisa is a brilliantly comic and sharp actress and we've been trying to get her into the EastEnders cast for a long time - so I'm delighted that it has finally happened." Creation and development The Market: 2014– Donna is an in-your-face loud mouth – your best friend or your worst enemy. Donna Yates is a brash woman – Queen of Spring Lane market. She’s worked hard all her life and never taken a hand-out from anyone. Proud to a fault, Donna has fought tooth and nail for her independence and won’t let anyone take it away from her. Her self-started business is her livelihood and success is everything. She wants to win. She wants respect. She’d rather be feared than loved. However, Donna’s abrasive personality covers hidden depths. Donna is an intelligent, though opinionated, woman. She works hard and swears by her unfaltering work ethic but by throwing herself so hard into her business other things have slid… primarily her love life. Donna hopes Mr Right is round the corner but her abrasive personality will probably put pay to finding him. Loudmouth Donna always has to be top dog and will go to any lengths to achieve this. Never one to let her guard down, she takes no prisoners and always has to have the last word. But is her in-your-face persona all a front? Hammond told Digital Spy: “Viewers come up to me in the street and say, ‘You’re a b***h!’ right in my face! But I find that really exciting, because it means I must be doing something right! Donna’s not supposed to be particularly likeable, and I find that much more interesting to play than someone who’s a bit neutral. "You're going to find out a lot more about Donna's roots and where she's come from. We’ll discover that there is a softer side to her, and a funnier side as well. But it doesn’t matter if people still hate her – I don’t want her audience to just go, ‘Oh well, that explains why she is how she is’. She could lighten up anyway, couldn’t she? But I don’t think you’ll ever see a full turn around with Donna.” She added: "Donna's been single for a long time, so she sees a few people as potentials. I don't think she's head over heels in love with Alfie. It's just that thing of when you get on well with a guy and you think maybe something could happen. There's that little spark of attraction for Donna, so she's disappointed that he wants to take Kat along to the wedding." Claudette: 2015– Donna's foster mother, Claudette Hubbard, is introduced as a new regular character. Claudette is secretly having an affair with Pam Coker's husband, Les Coker. Claudette is billed by executive producer, Dominic Treadwell-Collins as a "new steely matriarch who will cause trouble with her tough-talking nature" with "a few twisted secrets hidden behind her hidden smile".